Hyaluronic Acid-Based Nanomaterials Applied to Cancer: Where Are We Now?

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Oncology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Cancer cells acquire resistance to conventional therapies, necessitating novel treatment strategies.
• Targeted therapeutics offer advantages over traditional treatments by overcoming limitations.
• Tumor cells often overexpress receptors for hyaluronic acid (HA), which are less common in normal cells.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the potential of hyaluronic acid (HA) as a targeting ligand for nanovehicles in cancer treatment.
• To explore in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrating HA's role in targeted drug delivery.
• To highlight HA-based nanocarriers for future biomedical applications in oncology.

Main Methods:

• Review of in vitro and in vivo studies on HA-targeted nanovehicles.
• Analysis of HA's properties for drug conjugation and formulation (e.g., micelles, nanogels, nanoparticles).
• Evaluation of HA-based drug delivery systems for tumor-selective accumulation and reduced toxicity.

Main Results:

• Hyaluronic acid (HA) exhibits biocompatibility and biodegradability, suitable for drug conjugation.
• HA-based nanocarriers demonstrate enhanced tumor-selective drug accumulation and predictable delivery.
• These systems show potential for decreased toxicity to normal tissues compared to conventional treatments.

Conclusions:

• Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a promising ligand for developing targeted nanovehicles in cancer therapy.
• HA-based nanomaterial drug delivery systems offer an effective approach to overcome cancer drug resistance.
• Further research into HA-targeted nanomedicines holds significant potential for future cancer treatment applications.